CYPRESS : Council Will Not Reconsider Warehouse Plan

Angry cries of “Recall! Recall!” resounded from a standing-room-only audience this week as the City Council refused to reconsider its decision favoring a big warehouse project.

Residents took up all 100 seats in the council room Tuesday night, and about 25 more stood along the walls. Most came to testify against the project, which the council approved last month.

The 439,650-square-foot warehouse at 11400 Valley View St. would be used as a wholesale distribution center for Shaw Industries, a Georgia-based carpet maker.

Nearby homeowners pleaded in vain with the council on Sept. 26 not to approve the project. They returned Tuesday night to ask for reconsideration and seek answers to a variety of questions about the project.

“We are not being heard, and I feel we should be heard,” said resident Dave Conde.

But council members responded that they had already weighed pro and con testimony on the project and declared the matter settled.

“We’re not going to withdraw the decision,” said Councilwoman Cecilia L. Age. “As far as putting this back on the agenda to withdraw our decision, we’re not going to do this.”

After several residents in the audience addressed the council to protest the warehouse, Mayor Richard Partin announced that he was cutting off further discussion.

“We’ve had 37 minutes of comments on this one item, and we’re going to have to move on,” Partin said.

The audience exploded into verbal protest, with several people chanting “Recall! Recall!” The council took a five-minute recess, and most of the homeowners left the council room.

Residents have charged that the warehouse project will increase traffic and noise, lowering property values. The City Council has said that the warehouse will have minimal environmental impact and will bring Cypress $12 million in new sales taxes over the next 10 years.